I am glad this beautiful perfume comes along at a time in my Perfumista career, when I can really appreciate it.
Half indolic white floral, half oakmossy chypre, Jour Ensoleillé sounds scary and would have sent me running not too long ago.
But both my experiences with Laurie Erickson’s outstanding talent and fragrant explorations of the scary jasmine-tuberose party and the even scarier “chypre of old” section of my sample box, have prepared me for this.
Notes include orange blossom, neroli, tuberose, jasmine, beeswax absolute, labdanum absolute , myrrh, sandalwood, ambergris, vetiver, green leaves, oakmoss absolute.
Turns out there is really nothing here to be afraid of, on the contrary, Jour Ensolleilé is something to look forward to, if you haven’t tried it yet.
A well blended triptych of jasmine, orange blossom and tuberose is glued with beeswax onto a mossy, dark green base. It smells sweet and round, but underneath the happy and flirty florals, lies a watchful, earnest and intelligent greenness.
I almost see two women before me, a carefree girl and her stern mother. Young and lively, mature and thoughtful.
I see myself actually, torn between these two images of womanhood. On the one hand still feeling like a young girl, free, flirty, craving adventure and the thrill of the unknown.
On the other hand feeling like a matron, who is supposed to be serious and somber, has to put her children’s need before her own at all times and is just a bit disappointed with the way things are going. She knows better now and mourns the loss of innocence.
But that is not tragic any more, than the appearance of her first laugh lines is. It is just the way of life. Disappointment, the fact that not all dreams come true, is part of every life. But the memories of times of innocence is part of that life as well. Nothing can take those away.
Some perfumes can even breathe new life into them for a few precious hours.
Other SSS reviews: To Dream :: Champagne de Bois :: Tabac Aurea :: Sienna Musc :: Incense Pure :: Nostalgie
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I recently ordered samples from SSS and I’ve been saving them for this weekend for testing. I’m so glad I got this one because you make it sound very interesting 🙂
You are going to have a great weekend then! SSS has some really wonderful perfumes, enjoy! And let me know which were your favorites!!!
Haha, I did not end up having a SSS marathon after all. The first one I tried was JE and then I’ve been craving it again and again. And this hardly ever happens, I usually get bored if I wear a scent 2 times in a row, no matter how good.
It’s something about how those sunny happy notes are offset by those more sombre ones that proved to be the perfect match for how I’ve been feeling for the last few days.
That seems like a perfect match! 🙂 So glad you enjoyed JE so much.
Indolic jasmin tuber… (I’m still running !)
Oh dear! Come back, Lady Jane… 😀
What a beautfiul review. I love your metaphor of the two women and the clever two-in-one image to go with it.
Isn’t it wonderful when just the right perfume comes along at just the right time?
Thank you, Tara! I’m glad I didn’t “meet” Jour Ensoleilėe earlier, I wouldn’t have realized its beauty.
My favorite Sonoma Scent Studio frag! I really love this one: so few florals explore the really rich, buttery side of orange flower, and this one is ace. I need a bottle, but back when I could get it shipped to me ( in Canada ), it was out of stock. Once I’m out of Egypt I’ll be ordering this! 🙂
Oh, that is too bad! How long will you be staying in Egypt? It must be hard to be so cut off from perfume access. (On the upside you have all those attars and oils readily available.)
Five days! I’m a mixture of sorry to leave, and looking forward to living in a major city ( Vancouver ) with lots of niche stores! 🙂
Oh, so soon! Have a great trip and I hope you transition well!
I have to agree with Lady Jane Grey – it is a scary list of notes. I’m not sure I am quite far enough along my perfume journey to appreciate this yet… The SSS sample set is definitely on my wish list.
It does look like a lot… 🙂 There are probably more user-friendly scents for chypre/white floral phobes in the SSS line up than this one.
I’m on board with Sugandaraja: this is my absolute favorite SSS frag. It is so, so very unique and stunning, I’d give Laurie an award for it, if I could.
That is a lovely thought, she should get an award indeed!
I did like this description: “underneath the happy and flirty florals, lies a watchful, earnest and intelligent greenness.”
And I did also like the scent, which should give anyone hesitating a reason to run in the direction of this one and not away from it! For I would ordinarily be just as scared if not more so by those notes. It was fresh and bright and not overly indolic as I recall. Moreover, I tried it years ago, when I was much more timorous about big florals.
Like tara, I enjoyed the “two women” analogy. In the absence of children, I am able to indulge the younger woman more easily, I guess, who is still very much with me, if not her skin or teeth, sadly!
Thank you, V, for your endorsement of this perfume. This is surely a help for all those who run! (Lady Jane, are you still here somewhere?)
The young woman in me can’t keep the idea of being free and independent up for very long, the repeated and relentless screaming of Mama, Mama jolts me out of that delusion every time. 😉
Ouch. I identify all too clearly with both those women. How uncannily well you describe them!
JE is a bit too sharp and piney for me. As with a few other SSS scents (CdB is another) I just don’t seem to smell it as other people do. But I have a purse spray and every now and again I get it out for a spritz, hoping some how my perception will click into place. That does happen sometimes.
So true, that happens sometimes, all of a sudden it clicks.
This is among my favorite perfumes, not just from SSS, but anywhere. It’s what I would call a “Gentle Chypre” – so evocative of a beautiful late summer afternoon in the great outdoors. A relative of L’Artisans’ now discontinued La Haie Fleurie – A la California!
So glad you like it, too!
Gentle Chypre sounds lovely! I like it a lot more than La Haie Fleurie, the jasmine seems softer and sweeter in JE.
Your descriptions of the young and older (I can’t bring myself to say “old”) woman hit home with me, too. What a way with words you have! I sometimes think that in America we are not accepting enough of the good and bad that comes in every life; we seem to want to turn everything around to be happy and perfect. It’s a lot of work! 🙂
You’ve inspired me to get out my sample of Jour Ensoleille, too!
Thank you, Nat. It is not only in America, but propably it is worse over there, that perfection and how things seem is most important. 😦
Suzanne (of Eiderdownpress) was kind enough to send me sample of this and what really amazed me is that this perfume actually made me smile. Like a beautiful sunny spring Sunday morning.
A lovely metaphor. I long for a little sun and the warmth of spring… 🙂
JE is one of the ones that never quite worked for me, yet I have enjoyed wearing on occasion. Like you, I think I might be ready for it— I think it’s time to wear it again! I remember loving it’s sunniness…
I too love the image you’ve painted of the two conflicting woman; I can definitely relate.
Maybe after falling for Unspoken, JE is right for you now as well. Those two share some similarites.
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Jour Ensoleille I was afraid of for a long time, because of that jasmine-orange blossom focus (I love tuberose), and the perfumista description of it, that it “smells like horses.”
It does smell very sunny and cozy to me, and I love love love the beeswax in it. So beautiful. I have only a purse spray, and that will probably do me for awhile because it takes my attention so completely when I wear it. Nostalgie was perhaps more comfortable for me, but JE is something I crave from time to time.
I agree, that it is not for casual wear in the sense that it demands attention, but sometimes when I’m in the right mood there is nothing better.
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